From Gene Burnett
Winter has finally come to Southwest Oregon after one of the
nicest and most beautiful falls we’ve had since we moved here. The
bandshell in Lithia Park where I
teach T’ai-Chi is under renovation for the next few months (see “Get Back On
The Horse” video link below). This means I’ll be teaching at the nearby
fountain area when it’s not raining, and in the nearby gazebo if it is. I’m
already used to the new locations and they’re actually both pretty nice. I do
miss the bandshell but hey, I’ve been able to teach there rent free for going
on 20 years, so I think I can roll with this.
For the sixth or seventh year in a row, I got to present and
sing one of my songs at the annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Ceremony. I love
this event and it’s always an honor and a pleasure to participate. See video
link below…
We also had a “Neil Young Birthday Bash” at the Wild Goose Café
& Bar that was a blast! The music was great even if the acoustics were a
bit dodgy. There was a concurrent fundraising event for a Goose regular who was
having some serious medical issue so it got pretty noisy at times. But everyone
seemed to be enjoying the music and they did raise a bunch of money, so it was
all good. I made a video of some of the highlights. See link below…
And as usual, Samarra and I strung lights around our apartment
and hung our ornaments on them. For the past couple of years, Samarra has been
out of town during the fall and only made it back very close to Christmas, so
we just got the decorating in under the wire. This year was a special treat as
she was back in town for Thanksgiving and we got to put our holiday stuff up
with plenty of time to enjoy before Christmas. See video link below as well as
above.
We’ve had to skip a couple of Rogue Poetry Slams this fall
because T-Poe our resident Slam Master and the guy who really makes the slam
happen has been faced with some major health challenges. He’s making a slow and
steady recovery but running the slam is just proving to be too much for him.
This month we were back with mutual friend Liesl Garner taking over as Slam
Master. It was a great slam and we even had a 3-way tie for first place and had
to do a run-off round. I ended up coming in 2nd place. See video
links below…
T’ai-Chi and training has been going great. As usual, people
are a bit in and out of town this time of year, so my teaching schedule is a
bit lighter than usual, which means more time to practice. I’m going to start a
gentle marketing push for new students starting with the new year. T’ai-Chi is
so good for health and balance and it’s also a great “martial yoga” to help
build attributes that are useful, not only in fighting and martial arts
training, but in daily life as well. And private lessons is a great way to
learn this stuff.
I should have my new album “Thunder Moon” up on my site any day
now. I’m proud of this one, just like all the others, but I’m looking forward
to getting back into writing. I know you’re supposed to “get behind” your album
and sell it, but I’m too old for that, I hate marketing, I don’t travel, and
honestly, I don’t think there’s much of a market out there for unknown old guys
playing four chord folk music, so instead, I put my albums “behind me” and move
on to the next one. I love the new songs though and I like the way this album
turned out. I’ll of course keep you posted.
I posted a bunch of new videos to youtube his month: 5 new T’ai-Chi videos, 4 new Music videos,
and 4 new Rogue Poetry Slam videos. See links below in the Videos section of
this post.
So here we go…I’m going to start with local shows in case
you’re in the Rogue Valley and then proceed with the usual information about
where to find my music, videos, and pictures, including information about new
projects.
There is so much to listen to and watch on the net these
days…I’m amazed anyone even gets this far in the newsletter let alone watches
or listens to anything I’m doing. I’m sincerely grateful for every view, every
listen, and every nice comment I receive. I’m happy if anything I post truly
reaches even one person. I’m offering all this stuff in a “just in case you’re
interested” spirit.
Upcoming Shows:
Monday December 4th,
I'll be playing at one of my favorite
Ashland venues, Liquid Assets. A relaxed living room vibe with
great service, excellent food and wine, and a really nice place to listen to
music. I play from 7:00-9pm *This will be my last show at this venue as they’ve
decided to go a different direction with music in the future. I’ve enjoyed
playing First Wednesdays for several years, it’s been fun but every gig is
temporary and I have no hard feelings at all about the change.
Wednesday December 6th, I'll be hosting my regular Themed Open
Mike at The Wild Goose Café & Bar. Usually this
happens on the First Wednesday of every month. This month's theme will be
our 7th annual “Holiday/Winter Songs” so musicians
and spoken word artists will be doing songs and poems, covers or originals,
that are about or mention winter or the winter holidays in any way. We’re never
too strict or narrow about the themes for this event. The main idea is to focus
our attention a little to hopefully inspire and motivate us
creatively. These are always fun community events. No Cover at the
friendliest bar in Ashland. Sign-up is 7:30pm. Show starts at 8:00pm.
*A heads up for next month: Wednesday, January 3rd, 2018: “Whiny Songs~Pissin’, Moanin’ & Complainin’”
*A heads up for next month: Wednesday, January 3rd, 2018: “Whiny Songs~Pissin’, Moanin’ & Complainin’”
Saturday, December 9th,
from 11:30am-1:30pm, I'll be playing
at The Lithia Artisan's Holiday Market, at the Briscoe School building in
Ashland. Come support local music and art!
Saturday, December 16th, from 10am-Noon, my good friend Jesse
Biesanz and I are hosting a Hacky Sack session outside Caldera Tap House on
Water Street in Ashland. We’ll be under the overpass. This usually happens on
the third Saturday of every month but this month we’re doing it on the 2nd
Saturday. We both miss the fun and camaraderie of a good friendly Hack Circle
and…more importantly, we miss the practice! It’s fun, aerobic, cooperative,
demands balance, coordination, quick thinking and accuracy…So whether you’re
new to the game, or an experienced player who wants to brush up your skills, or
an expert who just wants to meet some new players, come on by. Hacky Sack
basically involves keeping a small footbag in the air, usually leather and
fairly soft, using only your feet. When there are more than two players, it’s
usually played in a circle. If the circle gets too big, it is split into
smaller circles.
The only rules of this Hack Circle:
1. You’ve got to use your feet to keep the sack in the air and off the ground. No hands! (10 voluntary pushups if you do)
2. If you miss or otherwise screw up, you can’t say, “I’m Sorry.” (10 voluntary pushups if you do)
3. No serving to yourself. (10 voluntary pushups if you do)
4. No hotdogging. Meaning this is not about how many tricks you can do before the sack hits the ground, and it’s not about working obsessively on tricks. Tricks are fine but in general, we want to keep the hack going as a friendly group and keep everyone involved.
See you at Caldera rain or shine. The overpass provides shelter from the rain and once the circle gets going, you’ll be plenty warm regardless of the weather.
The only rules of this Hack Circle:
1. You’ve got to use your feet to keep the sack in the air and off the ground. No hands! (10 voluntary pushups if you do)
2. If you miss or otherwise screw up, you can’t say, “I’m Sorry.” (10 voluntary pushups if you do)
3. No serving to yourself. (10 voluntary pushups if you do)
4. No hotdogging. Meaning this is not about how many tricks you can do before the sack hits the ground, and it’s not about working obsessively on tricks. Tricks are fine but in general, we want to keep the hack going as a friendly group and keep everyone involved.
See you at Caldera rain or shine. The overpass provides shelter from the rain and once the circle gets going, you’ll be plenty warm regardless of the weather.
Tuesday, December 19th,
I'll be competing with many other poets
at the Rogue Poetry Slam which happens at Caldera Tap
House in Ashland. Sign-up is at 7:30pm and the show starts at 8. $5 cover,
all of which goes to the winning poets. If you've never been to or competed in
a Poetry Slam, I highly recommend this one. Come to watch, compete, or be one
of the judges. Some people think of slams as hardcore hip-hop events or places
where people are mean and talk trash, but nothing could be further from the
truth. All kinds of poetry are welcome and people are very supportive. And it's
so nice to participate in an event that is all about the words, or in my case,
lyrics. For me it's really not about winning or losing, but just the fun of
sharing my words with people and seeing what happens.
For more info about these and all of my shows, and to confirm
that there have been no cancellations, click here: Calendar
Since I'm putting this newsletter out once a month, it's
possible there may be a cancellation of a given show by the time it
happens. Please double check with my web calendar if possible to be
sure the gig is still happening. I'd hate to have you come out for nothing.
Also another gig or two might be added or times or locations might change, so
do check the calendar for the latest info.
Recorded Music
All of my over 30 albums are available for downloading free or
with a donation at my website: www.GeneBurnett.com
Videos In General
Overall Mission: I post a lot of videos on youtube, over
1000 so far! I'm not trying to build a fan base...In fact, I'm not trying to
build anything. I'm not expecting you or anyone else to follow what I'm doing
or watch all of these videos. Posting videos is just part of my overall plan to
make my music (and my T’ai-Chi and Nature videos too) as freely available as
possible and see what freely comes back. I think of each video as sort of like
a message in a bottle...and more I toss out there the more likely one of them
will land on a friendly shore and something good will come back to me. So here
are some video links in case you're interested:
How to Find My Videos: First of all, I've set up a "Videos" page on my website (www.GeneBurnett.com) with a menu similar to what you see
below as well as a digital tip jar in case any of you want to contribute to my
cottage industry. Every little bit helps and not just financially.
I've also set up some blogs that make navigating and viewing my
various videos much easier. You can go to any of these blogs and see thumbnails
for all of the videos posted there. Scroll across the thumbnails and you will
see the titles of each video. Click on it and a page will open that will let
you watch the video right there without going to youtube. My latest videos are
always in the upper left hand corner.
To see all of my Music videos in one easy to navigate place,
click here: The Unforced Videos
To see all of my T'ai-Chi videos in one easy to navigate place,
click here: The Unforced Movement
To see all of my Nature videos in one easy to navigate place,
click here: The Unforced Nature
For a quick and easy way to sort through, listen to, or
download all of my albums free or with a donation, click here: The Unforced Music
To see my regular blog “The Unforced Life”,
click here: The Unforced Life
To visit my youtube channel and possibly subscribe, click
here: My Youtube Channel
To see all of my youtube playlists click
here: My Youtube Playlists
New Videos
5 new T’ai-Chi videos:
Listening,
Coordinating, & Integrating
Respect The Opponent's Direction
Get Back On The Horse
Expand Your Range Of Expression
Respect The Opponent's Direction
Get Back On The Horse
Expand Your Range Of Expression
4 New Music videos:
Neil
Young Birthday Bash Highlights
Thanksgiving Interfaith Ceremony
My Friend Avram Covers Three Of My Songs
Christmas 2017 Apartment Tour
Thanksgiving Interfaith Ceremony
My Friend Avram Covers Three Of My Songs
Christmas 2017 Apartment Tour
And…
4 New Rogue
Poetry Slam videos:
The Next Time I'm Single (Rogue Poetry
Slam)
At the Time (Rogue Poetry Slam)
Take Me Down Mosaic (Rogue Poetry Slam)
To You (Rogue Poetry Slam)
At the Time (Rogue Poetry Slam)
Take Me Down Mosaic (Rogue Poetry Slam)
To You (Rogue Poetry Slam)
Pictures
I've stopped posting as many pictures on facebook, (for many
reasons), and started posting them instead on Flickr, which I like much better.
Here's a link to my "home page"
at Flicker: Photostream.
I have many photo galleries there but a few of my favorites are:
Small Miracles (mostly Nature related stuff)
The Dish Whisperer (I started posting a daily picture of my dish stacking
work over a year ago. I recently crossed the 2000 straight days mark. I have no
idea how long I’ll keep doing this. I’m so used to it, it hardly takes any
effort at all to continue. I made a video for my song “I'll Do The
Dishes Tonight” that
featured a slideshow of the first year.
"Head" and "Boot" (devoted to our two gerbils RIP)
Website
I continue to offer all of my albums for downloading, free or
with a donation at my website: www.GeneBurnett.com I started doing this about 8 or 9 years ago and
considered it a 5 year creative experiment. Well the 5 years passed and I
decided to start calling it my "ongoing creative experiment" as I
have no plans to stop. Since I returned to my folk roots and stopped climbing,
or trying to climb, the industry ladder, I've been enjoying music in my life
more than ever before. And enjoyment, rather than achievement or worldly
success has always been dearest to my heart anyway. So now I focus totally on
what I love most: writing, recording, performing and sharing what I create. If
other people like it, so much the better, but getting other people to like me
or what I do is no longer my goal or focus. I'm out to please myself first. I
want to do my music exactly the way I want to do it and see who likes it that
way, not figure out what people will like and try to do it that way. I put it
out there freely and see what comes freely back. So far so good. I've never had
more success and appreciation than I have since I started doing it this. Go
figure.
Thanks, as usual, for your support and well wishes even if you
don't make to any shows.
GB
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